Your source for the latest news on Rutgers football, basketball, and other sports

Menu

Daily Archives: October 2, 2013

Having filled the depleted Rutgers men’s basketball roster and most of his 2014 recruiting class, head coach Eddie Jordan scored his first 2015 commitment Wednesday night in small forward Austin Burnette of North Carolina.

Burnette, a 6-foot-6 junior at Broughton High School, visited Rutgers in mid-September.

“It was the culture and the environment on my visit. I loved the culture and the fans behind the school,” Burnette told Rivals.com’s Matt Hladik. “I loved the fact that coach Jordan played there and he’s going to have everyone in New Jersey behind him. I love the coaching staff and the system that he’s going to run.”

Burnette is flying under the national recruiting radar. His other offers came from Charlotte, Jacksonville, Western Carolina and Kennesaw State. Some higher-profile programs like Illinois and VCU were expressing interest. Jordan has said he will use the eye test and not rely on national rankings when evaluating talent and good fits for his Princeton-style system.

The 2015 class is huge for Rutgers, which should have at least five more scholarships available. The Scarlet Knights still have one 2014 spot to fill, but could roll that over to 2015 as well.

Garrett Gilbert, who played in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game for Texas, is in his second season at SMU. (AP Photo/ The Dallas Morning News, Brad Loper)

PISCATAWAY — A.J. McCarron, who has undefeated Alabama sitting atop both major polls again as it goes for a third straight national title, is one of two active college football quarterbacks with BCS National Championship Game experience. The other? Well, he is preparing to face Rutgers this week.

Southern Methodist’s Garrett Gilbert probably is best known outside of the Lone Star State as the sympathetic figure thrust into action in place of injured starter Colt McCoy in the first quarter of Texas’ loss to Alabama in the BCS title game following the 2009 season, but Saturday he will be looking to help his new school get on the right track after a 1-3 non-conference start.

“I always know even when things aren’t going well, sometimes that’s the way games go,” Gilbert told New Jersey Press Media on Wednesday. “Things aren’t going to go well. You aren’t going to have success offensively. You just have to dig deep and find that extra gear in order to make something happen and force something to happen. That (game) is something I definitely can draw upon. Something I think about all the time. Something I look back on, regardless of the fact that we lost, and think it was a good experience for me.”

Keep Reading: “When you’re an 18-year-old kid and you get booed off the field, I think it takes its toll.”

Nick Marsh used to kick field goals with his father off to the side of his brother’s Pop Warner football practices. He kicked some more in practices during his four years at the University of Utah.

But none of those kicks counted for real like they will Saturday.

In an effort to solve its placekicking woes, Rutgers is considering letting its punter and kickoff specialist, Marsh, handle any long-range field goals Saturday against SMU. Marsh last attempted an official field goal in high school in Petaluma, Calif.

“I’m a little rusty because I’m focusing so much on punting but you never really lose it. It’s like riding a bike,” Marsh said. “It’s the first thing you learn when you become a specialist. Everybody wants to be a field goal kicker. I started off as a field goal kicker and became a punter. I can do it. I’ve always been able to hit the ball far and get the ball up a lot. I’ve just got to hone in on the snap and hold and I should be fine.”

In addition to handling kickoffs at Utah, Marsh was the backup punter and field goal kicker. When he began looking for destinations as a graduate transfer after last season, he thought his ability to score points was going to be his best asset.

“I was always competing for it. I always had a shot to do it,” Marsh said. “To be honest with you, I thought I was going to be doing field goals after I transferred but the opening was punting here so that’s what I focused my time on. (I’ve) never hit a field goal (in college). I’d like to if I get a shot. It would be awesome. A dream come true.”

What would be Marsh’s range?

“We find that out in pregame. It all depends on where we are and how much wind there is,” he said. “If there is enough wind behind me I’ll say I can make a 65-yarder to a 70, but that’s a lot of wind. But if that same wind is in my face I might only be able to make a 40- or 45-yarder tops. So it all depends. We had a little wind in our face today and I felt like I had the distance for that 55. Today my limit would probably be about 55.”

Kyle Federico is 4-for-8 on field goals this season and 11-for-19 in his career, though he has missed four of his last five attempts. Nick Borgese was 5-for-8 as Federico’s injury fill-in last season and went 4-for-4 on PATs last game, but he has failed to win the field goal job in multiple open competitions since training camp.

Coach Kyle Flood said that he is undecided as to whether Federico or Borgese will handle the shorter field goals.

“Right now we’ll have to decide who the first kicker is out there,” Flood said. “If we’re going to attempt a long one it will probably be Marsh. That’s what we’ve been doing in practice. He seems to have a little more distance at this stage. I’m always hesitant to use the punter/kickoff guy as the kicker full-time. I don’t think in the history of the NFL it has ever been done so I really wouldn’t want to put all those things on a college player.”

“To be honest with you, my leg is taxed at the end of a game regardless,” Marsh said. “What’s another couple field goals going to be? The ones that tax the most are the kickoffs. It’s a field goal. You get to go out there and try to make points for your team. I’d try to do that any day.”

“Right now we’ll have to decide who the first kicker is out there. If we’re going to attempt a long one it will probably be (Nick) Marsh. That’s what we’ve been doing in practice. He seems to have a little more distance at this stage. I’m always hesitant to use the punter/kickoff guy as the kicker full-time. I don’t think in the history of the NFL it has ever been done so I really wouldn’t want to put all those things on a college player.”

IF HE DOES THE LONG ONES, ANY IDEA WHO WILL DO THE SHORT ONES?

“We know it will be one of two. We don’t know exactly which one it will be. We’ll make that decision after tomorrow’s practice.”

DOES HE HAVE A DISTANCE WHERE HE COMES OUT AND A CUTOFF THAT IS TOO FAR?

“We’ll have to discuss that. A little bit will have to do with the wind and the gameday conditions. I think in practice he can probably hit them from 60 (yards).”

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SMU RB TRAYLON SHEAD, WHO JUST GOT CLEARED TO RETURN TODAY?

“Good player. Good numbers in the past. I’m sure he is a guy who is going to help them. I can speak statistically. They have not been as productive in the run as they have been in the past. I know when he was their guy they were more productive. He’s a good player. I’m sure they’re happy to get him back.”

IS THERE ENOUGH FILM ON HIM?

“I have not looked that far in the past to see the film on him. But just looking at the number he looks like somebody who has been very productive for them.”

THEY’VE HAD A 1,000-YARD RUSHER EACH OF THE LAST FOUR YEARS. DOES THAT SEEM STRANGE TO YOU THAT THEIR RUN PRODUCTION HAS FALLEN OFF THIS YEAR?

“In that offense, it’s usually about the numbers. When the numbers present themselves in the box – if it’s similar to what I coached in (at Hofstra) there is a count system in place where if there is a certain number of defenders in the box they will run it and if there is a certain number of defenders in the box they’re going to throw it. And some of those throws are considered runs in that system. When I was at Hofstra, we had two different backs go over 1,000 yards. Not the same season. Different seasons. It’s not unusual to have a 1,000-yard rusher in that system because when you have a really talented quarterback like they do and you have dedicate a number of defenders to the passing game you create 1-on-1s and you create 1-on-1s in space and with the right guy with the ball in his hands it’s a problem.”

Rutgers added to its 2014 recruiting class in a big way Monday by gaining a commitment from Tariq Cole, a 6-foot-6, 370-pound pound offensive lineman out of Long Beach High School in New York.

“He’s a big-bodied kid and while he may lose some weight when he gets to college, the extra size he’ll still have could serve him well in the trenches in the Big Ten,” ScarletNation.com’s Matt Hladik said. ” He plays tackle for Long Beach but is expected to shift to guard at Rutgers. His area of Long Island doesn’t get hit up too hard by colleges, which is why he remained a bit under-the-radar. His junior tape is solid but I’ve heard his senior tape showed a lot of improvement, a major reason for Rutgers’ decision to offer.”

Cole reportedly had an offer from Temple and interest from Connecticut, Syracuse and Towson, which beat UConn earlier this season.

Rutgers has 23 high schoolers as part of its 2014 recruiting class.

“Obviously the size is what sticks out first but when you put on the film there’s a good amount of mobility and strength to go along with it,” said ScarletReport.com’s Sam Hellman. “He camped at Rutgers four times and did well against much better competition than what he sees during his season.”

PISCATAWAY — The amount of responsibility Kevin Snyder is facing right now as Rutgers gets set to take on Southern Methodist on Saturday in the American Athletic Conference opener for both sides is evident simply by taking a look at the latest depth chart.

The true junior out of Mechanicsburg, Pa., is slated as the starter at weakside linebacker on Saturday in Dallas. However, with Jamal Merrell still out with a kidney ailment, Snyder is also listed as the backup to Quentin Gause at strongside linebacker.

The switching back and forth between the two linebacker positions isn’t anything new for Snyder, who backed up Merrell at strongside linebacker as a sophomore before moving to weakside linebacker in the spring to replace 2012 Big East Defensive Player of the Khaseem Greene, who is now with the Chicago Bears.

Having the ability to play both positions is an added bonus for Rutgers, which is quite young at linebacker at the moment with the absence of Merrell. Snyder has played in all 30 games of his career and now qualifies as a veteran in the linebacking corps, which currently includes two redshirt freshmen (Steve Longa, Davon Jacobs), a sophomore (Gause) and a true freshman (L.J. Liston).

“I feel like when I’m in the game, it’s not overwhelming,” Snyder said. “Everything has slowed down now. When you first get out there, everything is moving really fast, but now, everything kind of slowed down so I’m able to make the calls, able to understand what they’re in, coming back to the adjustments we talked about all week. I feel like I am kind of a veteran presence out there.”

There are several reasons to be optimistic Last season, just over half of the team’s scoring and three of the top four scorer’s on the roster resided in the backcourt. Corey Sanders led the way with 12.8 points per game, followed by Nigel Johnson with 11.3 points per game, while Mike Williams added 9.4 points […]